Zach Long

Walking a fine line between ignorance and stupidity is a tough task.
As much as I would like to blame ignorance for some of my shortcomings, at the root there is stupidity.
We were journeying to Del Rio for a week of deer and duck hunting. There were a wealth of assumptions in my mind. I imagined a desolate and terrible area defining the United States and Mexico border.
Frankly, I was thinking about people sneaking across the border through cactus and desert. There was also the idea of an area riddled with drug cartel activity.

Make sure your boat is up to regulation on all safety requirements. Check laws if you are traveling to other states. A few minutes of effort now will ensure a friendly conversation with the local game warden later.
zach.long@lubbockonline.com
766-8665

The Idaho Fish and Game department completed a wolf control exercise to protect elk in the northern area of the state. Wildlife officials killed 19 wolves via an aerial operation in late February. The move is part of an effort to protect a declining elk population in the state’s Lolo elk zone. According to a recent survey, the area that was once home to more than 16,000 elk in 1989 has declined to less than 1,000 this year. Wildlife officials have removed more than 48 wolves from the area during the past five years.
zach.long@lubbockonline.com
766-8665

The Lubbock Shooting Complex is quickly becoming a destination for West Texas gun enthusiasts. The complex, which opened in August, is located south of Lubbock just off U.S. 87. The complex offers a wide array of shooting stations, including 15- and 25-yard pistol stations. The range has rifle targets as far as 600 yards away for the adventurous. One of the more heavily used features is a tactical range with a wide variety of targets. The complex is under the eyes of NRA-certified Ranger Safety Officer Brian Finan. We join Finan for a photo tour of the facility.

Ray Hayward first gripped a compound bow back in 1979.
The relationship would be short-lived. There was something unsettling about harvesting a buck with the cam-driven device.
“It was kinda like a gun to me,” Hayward said.
Four bucks fell by the compound bow before Hayward returned to his true love — a traditional recurve bow.
The challenge of the recurve bow fit Hayward’s personality.